Israel’s UN ambassador wears a Nazi-era yellow star as he criticizes the Security Council “for its silence” while Jewish babies are burned by Hamas

Israel’s U.N. ambassador on Monday wore a yellow star on his chest commemorating Holocaust victims and provocatively vowed to wear the badge until Security Council members condemn Hamas’s “atrocities.”

The state had previously called for the resignation of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after he said last week that the October 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,400 people “did not occur in a vacuum.”

“Some of you have not learned anything in the last 80 years.” “Some of you have forgotten why this body was established,” said envoy Gilad Erdan.

Erdan accused the Security Council of remaining “silent” on the unprecedented deadly attacks against Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants.

The deeply divided 15-member council has not adopted a single resolution on the three-week war between Israel and Hamas.

Israel’s U.N. ambassador on Monday wore a yellow star on his chest commemorating Holocaust victims and provocatively vowed to wear the badge until Security Council members condemn Hamas’s “atrocities.”

“So, I’ll remind you. “From this day forward, every time you look at me, you will remember what it means to remain silent in the face of evil,” the ambassador said.

“Just like my grandparents and the grandparents of millions of Jews, my team and I will wear yellow stars from now on,” he said, standing to place one reading “Never Again” on the chest of his suit. in reference to the yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis.

But Erdan will wear it “as a symbol of pride,” he said.

“We will wear this star until you wake up and condemn Hamas’ atrocities.”

His wearing of the badge, which has become a symbol of oppression of Jews since its introduction in Nazi-occupied Europe, was quickly criticized by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, which called on him to wear the Israeli flag instead.

“This act is a disgrace to the victims of the Holocaust and the state of Israel,” Dani Dayan, head of Yad Vashem, said in a Hebrew-language post on X, formerly Twitter.

“The yellow star symbolizes the helplessness and vulnerability of the Jewish people.” We now have an independent state and a strong army. We are the masters of our own fate.

“Today we will pin a blue and white flag on our lapels, not a yellow star.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the October 7 attacks the worst against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

For weeks, the Security Council has been riven by disagreements over the war and its impact and has rejected four draft resolutions on the conflict.

Some texts were blocked by the United States, a close ally of Israel, because they did not mention Israel’s right to defend itself.

Another proposal put forward by the Americans failed, particularly because of Russia and China, because it did not clearly call for a ceasefire.

Jews wearing Star of David badges, Lodz Ghetto, Poland, World War II, 1940-1944

A gold Star of David with the inscription “Never again” is worn by Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan as he speaks during a Security Council meeting

Palestinian militants celebrate in front of an Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip border fence on October 7. Over 1,400 Israelis were killed

Amid the standoff, the U.N. General Assembly passed by a large majority last Friday a non-binding resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” but making no mention of Hamas.

On Erdan, Israel criticized the text, saying it would “go down in history as a disgrace.”

During Monday’s Security Council meeting, several speakers condemned the Hamas attacks while emphasizing the price paid by residents of Gaza, where health officials said more than 8,300 people were killed in Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said the siege of the Gaza Strip amounts to collective punishment of its residents.

This comes at a time when Israeli officials are reversing their promised refusal to grant entry visas to UN officials.

Erdan accused the Security Council of remaining “silent” on the unprecedented deadly attacks against Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants

For weeks, the Security Council has been riven by disagreements over the war and its impact and has rejected four draft resolutions on the conflict

Martin Griffiths, the head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, tweeted on Monday that he was in Israel – less than a week after Israel’s U.N. ambassador said he had “denied” Griffiths a visa.

Israel has called for the UN Secretary-General to resign because he said Hamas attacks did not justify the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

In a major diplomatic row, Israel’s UN ambassador said Antonio Guterres was “not fit” to lead the panel after claiming the 1,400 killings did not happen “in a vacuum”.

The UN chief made the inflammatory remarks at a high-level meeting of the 15-member Security Council ahead of an expected ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

“The Palestinian people have been subjected to an oppressive occupation for 56 years,” Guterres said.

“But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify Hamas’ horrific attacks. And these horrific attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Israel has called for the resignation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (pictured) because he said Hamas attacks could not justify the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.

In a major diplomatic row, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan (pictured) said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “not fit” to lead the body after claiming the 1,400 killings did not happen “in a vacuum”. .

Erdan said the speech was “shocking” and that Mr. Guterres was “totally disconnected from the reality in our region.”

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres stood by his comments.

On Monday, Israel’s ambassador to Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, said: “We have not said categorically that we are not issuing visas. ‘We are… We understand that they have to be there.’

Eilon Shahar confirmed that Griffiths and other officials, including Han Kluge, the regional head of the World Health Organization, were in Israel.

However, she continued to express Israel’s disappointment that the heads of UN institutions have not spoken out more forcefully against Hamas militants for “slaughtering civilians and women in such a cruel manner.”

“The United Nations has failed the people of Israel,” Eilon Shahar added. “When I speak of the United Nations, I mean that the multilateral organizations have failed the Israeli people.”

He added: “The UN Secretary-General, who shows sympathy for the campaign of mass murder of children, women and the elderly, is unfit to lead the UN.” I call on him to resign immediately. There is no justification or point in speaking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people.”

Earlier, Israel’s foreign minister said he would no longer meet with Mr Guterres and criticized his call for a ceasefire at the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday.

Eli Cohen said, “Mr. Secretary General, what world do you live in? “This is definitely not our world,” as he held up photos of children kidnapped by Hamas. “How can you agree to a ceasefire when someone has vowed to kill and destroy your existence,” he added.

Cohen then thanked President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for their support of Israel.

At yesterday’s meeting, Israel resisted calls for a ceasefire and said its war against Hamas was a “war of the free world.”

Blinken and Palestinian Authority Secretary of State Riyad al-Maliki both appealed for the protection of civilians in Gaza.